Intrepid Laughter - Hardcover

Dickos, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810818159 ISBN 13: 9780810818156

Publisher: Scarecrow Pr, 1985

Preston Sturges is one of the preeminent figures in the history of American sound film. Dickos examines Sturges's work as an expression of his sensibility, which unified the dissonant features of his comic vision to offer an ironic and yet serious perspective on American life and society. Drawing on Sturges's own previously unpublished writing and correspondence, the book opens with a profile of the man and the events that shaped his life and career. A discussion of his screenwriting follows, and the last section provides critical commentary in the twelve films he wrote and directed. With an annotated critical bibliography.

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About the Author:

Andrew Dickos is the editor of Abraham Polonsky: Interviews and the author of Street with No Name: A History of the Classic American Film Noir. He is also a commentator on Paramount Home Entertainment's DVD of Preston Sturges's The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

Review:

"Just as Sturges lived at a fast pace, so does Dickos's book move quickly. He handles the difficulty of covering a complex man with a highly varied body of work with a wise selection of materials."―Classic Images"

"Andrew Dickos knowingly defines [Sturges's] particular brand of humor, clarifying the link between the verbal dexterity of Sturges's screenplays and the visual sureness of his directorial style."―American Cinematographer"

"Preston Sturges wrote and directed . . . some of the best comedies Hollywood ever produced. His movies were noted for their sophisticated and razor-sharp dialogue, usually delivered at a lightning pace by actors such as Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Claudette Colbert, Veronica Lake, and Sturges's regular company of great character actors, a group unrivaled in Hollywood. Andrew Dickos has done an outstanding job of covering Sturges's life and career and examining each of his movies."―Coast Book Review Service"

"It was time that the director of such notable films as The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, and Hail the Conquering Hero had a full-length study of his work, and this neat book . . . offers a concise but very adequate survey."―Film Review Annual"―

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